The rapid growth, according to IDC, will be due mainly to Apple’s expected deal with China Mobile Ltd., the country’s largest mobile carrier with 700 million subscribers, as well as the release of the less-expensive iPhone.

The iPhone 5C’s price tag of 4,488 yuan (about $733), which easily falls in the high-end segment of China’s smartphone market, indicates that Apple isn’t prioritizing market share over profit margins. Even so, Apple’s cooperation with China Mobile would bring in a lot of new customers.

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In the second quarter, before Apple launched the iPhone 5S and 5C in China, the company was far behind Samsung Electronics Co. and major Chinese competitors such as Lenovo Group Ltd. in terms of market share by shipment. Samsung held 18.3% of China’s smartphone market, followed by Lenovo’s 12.6% and another local brand, Yulong Coolpad, with 11%. Apple was in sixth place with a 5% share, according to IDC.

Even if Apple gets a boost from a deal with China Mobile to carry the iPhone, smartphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system, mainly low-cost models, will continue to account for the majority of the market, according to IDC’s forecast.

Still, we may see a little more diversity, since IDC also expects Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone OS to increase its share in the Chinese market.

With new emerging alternatives such as Firefox OS, Tizen and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s mobile OS, handset vendors and mobile carriers in China “will adopt new operating systems with a more open attitude,” said IDC analyst James Yan.

Meanwhile, China’s smartphone market, already the largest in the world after it overtook the U.S. in terms of shipment volume last year, will continue to grow. IDC expects smartphone shipments in China to increase 25% next year to 450 million units from the 360 million units it has forecast for this year.

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